I was amazed at all the responses I got to my last big blog entry. Sometimes I thought about responding but I always felt like I’d just be defensive of the advice or ideas so I held off.
Since then I read The Monk and the Riddle by Randy Komisar and also What Should I Do With My Life by Po Bronson. The first was recommended a while ago by my friend Dan. The second by my friend Monica. That second book has a really bad title in Japanese. It’s called “このつまらない仕事を辞めたら、僕の人生は変わるのだろうか?” which basically is “If I quit this boring job will my life change?”. Kind of sad because that’s not really the point of the book although maybe it is one way of looking at it.
Anyway, the first book, in so many words advises that you shouldn’t live on the deferred life plan. Which means, the author claims lots of people have a dream of doing something and their plan for achieving that dream is to do something else to first get enough money and then once they get enough money they’ll go do their dream thing. He claims that he pretty much hasn’t met anyone that’s ever done this. Generally they either never actually get the money or 10 – 20 years they spend doing this thing they are really not interested in changes them such that they lose their dream.
One thing, Randy seems blessed with an awesome life so there’s a certain part of his advice that is easy to dismiss thinking that he lucked out and so what does he really know about life for the rest of us. Still, it seems like good advice, although I’m not sure what my dream is/was that I haven’t tried to achieve. My dream was to start my own game company. I did this 3 or 4 times depending on how you define it. I did contract work straight out of high school and a couple of other times in my life. Also my friends and I right after college worked on some contracts together. We were massively underpaid but it was a try. Then there was Seven and Big Grub.
Since then I’m not sure I still want to do that. It certainly felt good to have my own company and I learned a lot about what to do and what not to do. For one I learned that it’s a butt load of work and you need partners that are willing to put in 80 hours a week for a few years until the company is successful. But, I also learned just how hard it is. There are so many roles that need to be filled. There are some awesome articles about how much there is to do here. All that makes me leary to try again. Worse, when I started making games in high school we could make them with just 1 person. My first commerial game was a conversion of Centipede from the Atari 800 to the Commodore 64. I think all the graphics in Centipede can be drawn in a few hours at most. Back then we didn’t have graphics programs so we had to plot them out on graph paper and convert them to computer code by hand but even so it didn’t take more than a day. Now the teams are 40 to 150 people big and the projects take 2 years. They cost $5 to $15 million dollars and you need all kinds of things in place to manage that many people. In fact one of the biggest problems is finding people that can actually do the job. This is off topic but the dotcom bust where all those programmers were supposedly out of work, my dad likes to bring that up, the thing is, we interview those guys and none of them had/have a clue. Even with all of them out of work there is still a shortage of people that can actually do these jobs.
Moving on, the other book was 50 or so stories of people that changed their lives in some way. Usually by switching careers. I guess their were one or 2 that didn’t just as counter examples. I wouldn’t say these stories were about people chasing their dreams so much as people trying to find something that made them happy or that made them feel like they belonged. I’m not sure what I got out of the book except possibly more anxiety that life doesn’ stop and I need to figure out something as soon as possible.
I brought up getting out of games. I’m not sure if the idea of getting out is because my last couple of years in as been disappointing or if there is more to it. Certainly making games is much more fun on a great team with talented people making something you actually believe in and I haven’t been in that situation since 1999 on Crash Team Racing. If I was in that situation again would everything be alright? But……On the other hand, a sub theme of the 2nd book above, not directly stated but inferred from the authors judgements and also part of the Anthony Robbins ideas is that most people need to feel like they are contributing to society or the big picture or something bigger than themselves in order to really be happy. To stop wondering if what they are doing is the right thing. Games hardly seem to fit that criteria.
Obviously you can come up with all kinds of ways they benefit people. Entertaining people is a valid and needed activity. Unfortunately, at least for me it’s too far removed. If you perform live you might get to see the people you make happy but at the companies I’ve been at I’ve almost never seen any feedback from people that enjoyed my games. I see a little here on this website sometimes but to give you an example my friends worked at Shiny Entertainment. Back when they made Earthworm Jim they got a TON of fan mail. Thousands of letters. Lots of them were in hand drawn envelopes with fan drawn pictures of their characters. They had hundreds of them on the walls of their staircase at their office. It was really inspiring. I don’t know if other companies get those or not. My feeling is they must but that the companies in question either don’t put them up, they get answered in customer service and then discarded, or, like in the case of Crash Team Racing I suspect the majority of the fan mail went to Sony, not to Naughty Dog so we never got a chance to see them. I’m not sure if that would make the difference between games feeling more worthy of a life or not.
Another abstract reason, games employ hundreds of thousands of people directly and indirectly which provides for families etc. That’s nothing to sneeze at. There’s even more abstract things like games are probably the #1 force behind PCs and graphic cards getting faster. Graphic cards have gotten so fast and so powerful they are now being used to solve problems and study issues that used to require giant mainframes. They would likely never have gotten their without games but I think those things are too far removed to actually satisfy that feeling of contributing to society. Maybe as the boss / owner of a company, certainly you feel responsible for all your employees and if things are going well I’m sure it feels good to know you are helping each employee with their life. Is that the answer? I have to start a company to be able to do games and feel like I’m contributing?
I suppose some people get that feeling from raising their kids. I’m not sure I’m willing to wait and find out of that’s the answer only to find it’s not. As far as I know it might not be in my future although I hope it is. Others might get it from volunteering. Maybe I should persue that angle although that hardly helps with the job aspect.
People have suggested I give something else a try. Unfortunately it’s not so easy. First off games are a constantly evolving industry. That means if you get out for a couple of years it will be extremely hard to get back in. Companies only want to hire people that have experience on current generation hardware, APIs etc. That means if I leave it I might never be able to get back in which is a scary thought.
Another giant issue is that in games, I’m a lead programmer. To put it in movie terms, that’s an above the line position. I’m in a position I get to have direct input into the design of the game. There are 3 or 4 positions at the top of a game, they are producer, lead designer, lead artist and lead programmer. Some friends have suggested I go check out the financial industry. Especially since in Japan they pay probably double what I’m making. But, I suspect the work I would do would be pretty uninteresting and the bigger issue is that I would go from being at the top of the team to being basically someone supporting the traders.
To put it another way, games started around lead programmers. Originally we did it all, the programming and the art and the sounds, even the sales and marketing. Then as things got bigger we hired artists to make better art and sales people and marketing people to push our products. In financial, the traders are the base. A company starts with a trader or traders, then they hire secretaries so they can concetrate on trading, then networking guys to give them faster access to info, then programmers to write trading programs etc but the base is the traders. Everyone else is there support to the traders.
That is not meant to judge anyone in any other position, it’s only ment to point out that in some ways, for me, switching industries would be a giant step down the ladder. Of course if making games is no fun anymore and if most other jobs suck as well then which ever job pays the most money or gives the most opportunities to have a life outside of your job might be the best choice. That’s probably the temptation of financial. Larger salaries, more benefits, more vacations, a more balanced employee makeup are all pretty tempting. On the other hand I don’t really feel like switching to financial would satisfy the kinds of needs those two books above talk about.
I see people getting MBAs. I have no idea if an MBA would be interesting or not but there are certainly lots of people with MBAs that appear to have very interesting opportunities. I really know absolutely ZERO about MBAs though so I have no clue if I would enjoy that path or if it’s even open at 39.
There’s another issue that’s eating at me as well. Maybe it could best be described as symptom of burnout. But it’s basically that I’m full of ideas and opinions on games, game hardware, game software, game APIs, game development, etc. I’d often like to pursue those ideas but at the same time I’m not willing to put in the time. I think it has to do with being 39 and single and having no balance. To give you an example I use to participate in the Computer Game Developers Conference discussion board back in the late 80s early 90s. I used to go to the Los Angeles Game Devlelopement SIG meetings once one month with my friends. Those types of opportunities still exist, maybe even more than they did before but it’s really hard to get into them. I could be partly because the industry is bigger and I therefore get less out of it being a smaller part of it. But, I think the biggest reason is instead of seeing it as fun now I see it as work or as that thing that kept me away from the rest of my life.
One other big point of both books although made in seperate ways is finding something to do that excites you. That makes you excited to get up in the morning and do it. Randy talks about it in the terms of “could you do this for the rest of your life” or I think better, “if you failed would you still feel this thing you are doing was worth your time?” I guess an example might be, if you started a company selling fax machines hoping to get rich and it failed you probably would feel like you wasted your time. If on the other hand you started a company to find a cure for cancer and you failed you’d probably still be proud that you at least tried. Those are exaggerated examples but smaller examples might be things like I’m sure the people at Google.com feel like they are making the world a better place. The people at Apple, whether or not you like Apple, those people feel like they are making the world a better place. I’d even bet most of the people at Microsoft feel like they are trying to make the world a better place. The people at Tivo probably feel like they are changing the world.
Well, what is that for me? Games used to really jazz me up. I used to be excited to come in to work. I used to be love this stuff. Is it just a matter of balance and or burnout or is that gone forever and I need to find it somewhere else and if it is somewhere else where is it?
Hello Gregg! O hisashiburi! It’s Pablo.
I don’t know the right answer, but maybe this can help you.
I am not in the same situation, but as you, I do not know what to do right now.
I think I could get into the game industry (which I have longed for quite a while) but not earning much. On the other hand, I know that if I tried I could get better paid jobs, and some of seem quite interesting (but not as cool as game development). It’s just that I also felt the pain of being short of money, as many other people.
Anyway here are some things I know for sure:
For me, balance comes first. I mean, balance in life. This is, not being with a computer 24 hours a day and meeting more with people, doing something extra not related to IT/game programming/computers: sport, art, volunteering, etc. Just not doing what you usually do.
I know everybody says the same thing, but I have found that in most cases when life was like hell to me, it was because I lacked balance. And, by the way, I think you are right learning Japanese again. It will help you a lot in the long run.
Quantity matters. Just getting too much or too few of something may be screwing up your life. And you must take into account everything, even sleep hours! Try to “unburn out” yourself as much as possible.
And then, once you are sure you have a “normal” life, you can go on and asking yourself more esoteric questions. Maybe then you find that what you were asking yourself before has no meaning anymore.
Regarding MBAs: My opinion is just do them if you are really decided to try again to set up your new company (with renewed knowledge and possibly some external help initially). If you are thinking in promotion inside your company, ask first if they would take it into account and how. Maybe you find out that they are willing to pay for it!
And yes, they are open at 39!
Just one more thing:
You know better than me, but I thought that when reaching the top of the programming branch in the game career, usually people changed into other branches inside the industry, mainly designing. I think that inside the industry you can do many things, now more than ever (even consulting or personnel recruiting!) What about a small change in your career instead of just leaving the whole industry?
I hope this will be useful somehow.Anyway, keep up the good work Gregg!
See you, unprobably, soon! T_T
(Maybe I shall also start another blog like this for myself
)
Man, I’m in the almost the same exact boat. I’m a Senior Lead Programmer in a medium sized studio for a multinational publisher. All they care about is cranking out budget SKU’s- “You made this game with 6 programmers in 10 months, can you make this one with 4 programmers in 9 months??” Morale is low across the board. The Executive staff are horribly incompetent. More people are looking for jobs than I care to know. It’s a shame because I thought it could be different here.
I too have had the pleasure of working on a title as the Lead Programmer where everyone executed their roles with passion and motivation. The game shipped on time, under budget, and better than expected. I’ve always wanted a second chance to prove that I could do it again, but I don’t think the environment I’m currently in fosters it. That previous project was at a small independent studio with everyone focusing on the project. The multi-project studios don’t really do it for me, I’ve decided. Pile on corporate bueracracy to add flavor. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an idealistic hippy. But I do have common sense, logic, and a sense of pride in my work.
Add to this that I’m in the process of divorcing my (ex)-wife and I’m very interested in moving back closer to my family. Unfortunately, we’re talking about the Southeast where the game industry barely exists. So there’s the very likely reality of getting out of the video games industry. However, I have discovered that I’m far happier enjoying my life outside of work than all that time I thought I was happy working 7 days a week. BUT a dream would to remain in the industry either as a consultant or contractor. Or even better- start a SMALL studio. I don’t have aspirations of becoming a huge AAA developer. I’m more interested in those small independents that have managed to hang on throughout the years and pocket a teeny bit of cash without getting greedy. Plus, overhead would be much lower than those West Coast mega-shops which could make my studio attractive for outsourcing. Particularly handheld games. Mmmm…. PSP…
I’m working on some various plans in the hopes that any one of them work out. It’s risky potentially giving up my nice salary, stability, and moving cross country back to an area where technology typically runs couple years behind. But perhaps that just means I now have the ability to make a significant impact there. My friend back home jokes that I’ve been away training like a Ninja and now I’m returning with my new abilities and knowledge.
I appreciate the links and good luck with your endeavors.
As I have said before, just do what I say and everything will be fine.
Get a job with Scaled Composites in Mojave, working on Spaceship One follow-ons.
And when you get that job, ask them to hire me as well.
Now THAT is something I could get excited about…
guess they are changing the world …
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3755154.stm
anyway, im surprised you arent interesting in working back in america. from reading you blog, id say you have simply been in japan too long. even if you find it boring, you should come back here to decide what to do next.
and its natural to come to hate industry events like trade shows and magazines, etc. its a sign of maturity. we all hate that crap and wonder how it was ever exciting. you need to find inspiration in things furthest away from your industry and apply it in abstract and subtle ways to your work. it makes you feel more integrated to the world. but you may be too burned out even for that …….
Have you thought of moving on to London?
I lived and worked in Tokyo 92-00, and only have a faint desire to return. Life in california is nice now, but if I could swing a job in Europe I’d take it. Japan has the been-there-done-that thing, but the UK’s got the foreign country thing w/o the language barrier of other countries.
Canada, Oz, and NZ also have some attraction, but having worked for two weeks in Leicester in late ‘95 I found the metropolis to be pretty interesting.
The brits are a pretty sharp bunch, something like you I had problems finding in .jp…
You could try getting into developing games for mobile devices, handsets & the like. Should be more achievable with a smaller team & budget. I know there are some pretty hot games coming out for those now, but it can still be a market where simple but compelling games can prosper.
Whenever a programmer isn’t programming, they are complaining. Stop complaining and you might actually like what you do. Such a blue collar mentality with such a priviledged job is irrational.
I was at the Serious Games Summit (http://www.seriousgamessummit.com) in DC earlier this week. Lots of interesting presentations by folks that are interested in applying games and gaming technologies to “serious” areas such as education, corporate training, defense, marketing, and social commentary. For instance, some guys at USC (http://www.isi.edu/stories/78.html) have added AI and voice recognition to Unreal to train soldiers in Arabic and its associated gestures/body language. The people at Newsgaming (http://www.newsgaming.com/newsgames.htm) create small interactive Flash games/demos for social commentary. Similar Flash games are becoming common as marketing tools (http://www.drpepper.com) on commercial and political sites.
Granted, these aren’t big sexy productions like HL2, but they are manageable projects that an individual or small team with a modest budget could handle. Sure, the messages of these games are debatable, but they certainly show that games have the power to impact and influence the world beyond traditional entertainment.
I’d say at 39 if you are not looking towards moving into management, you should be. Can’t work in the engine room forever…
gman>.., I’m a lead programmer.
You’re the lead on your current project? I thought you had said previously that your language skills weren’t up to that. If you’re the lead on a 1st party title at SCEI I think your Japanese is better than you’ve indicated!
Personally, I think you’ve got a talent at writing, and you really know your shit when it comes down to it. If anything, if you wrote a few books for aspiring game developers in the fashion that you wrote your articles and answers to the Q and A section, then Im sure people would check it out. Personally, I dont read alot of game development books because they dont seem rooted in a real world environment. That, and they seem like they woudlnt make sense to anyone who wasnt already in the industry. With that said, I wonder if you coudlnt make any spare change writing about the industry, games, your past, etc.
In the meantime, I think you should take one of those great ideas for a game you have, and impliment it. It sort of seems like you dont have alot of weight in making decisions where you’ve worked recently, and thats probably why you dont enjoy it as much anymore. Sort of like they’ve got you on drone mode, and you sit there and program for them. I really think that if you had more say in the course of the project, Your love for it would come back.
So why dont you find a couple good artists, maybe another programmer, and a musician, and make a game. Even if its an ‘old school’ type of game. And dont write it for the fame and for everyone telling you how great it is (besides, SO MANY of the people that play games now a days are fuckin morons and fanboys. Their opinion shodulnt count). Write the game for yourself. Put what YOU want to do in a game in it, and dont adhere to the ‘rules’ of corporate games that make tons of money.
greg…
it really surprises me that someone as logical as you are, can be so unsatisfied with your life.
all i have to say is, change your perspective.
there are people who make in a year, what it costs you for dinner at, say one of those restaurants you just reviewed. there are people who don’t have food at all.
stop yearning for more, stop drooling at ex-pat residences… stop the gluttonic-thinking…
Hi!
I’m a Mauro (26) from Italy.
I spent most of my summer asking to me what I wanna do in my future.
One day I read an interview that Garcia Marquez released to a newspaper about his job:
“….a writer is who will continue to write even if he goes out of money, without shoes, and owns only the necessary things that he need to survive….becouse writing is all his life”
Bye
There is no direct anwser to your problem gregg, but ask your self.
Are you happy with your life? Can you do something else than sitting in a cubebicale as a lead programer. Common you write awesome articles, and as someone mentioned that you could become a writer or maybe a journalist? What is missing, do you need someone else in your life. Try some dating sites, they work I know several people that uses them. The point is that nothing is perfect and you can never be 100% happy. If you think that programming still makes you happy so stay but if not do something else. Practice some kind of sport. It gives you time to think about yourself, try judo at kodakan judocenter or aikido. just do something different. Just to have some side goal is good. For example, atm I still go to school and I want to go to japan and study. But just going to school is kind of boring so I combind it with judo. What is your goal for the moment gregg?
//kris
Hi Guuys,
before i start, i do want it to be clear that i am trying to market myslef, however this is my field of excellence.
I work with professionals in the City of london who are suffereing from burnout. They are highly intelligent and able people who begine to find that they are de motivated, exhausted, often their self esteem is affected as is their self belief. They become emotionall vulnerable and quite often tearfeul. Some begine to abuse drugs and alcohol either to stay with the pace of the switch off. They have all a common destination unless they take action, which is when they usually call me.
I help them to clarify their values, and to recognise how what they are actually doing is in conflict with them (if it is!). We work on identifying all thie achievements, and look at what drives them, set some goals that will start the cogs moving in the direction that they actually want to move. Often we work on self worth issues, and their need to be seen to be succssful and ‘have’ the latest toys etc. Ultimately we are working towards them doing something that THEY love doing, and that has a purpose, they then find the passion coming back into their lives, and once their vision is clear self belief begins to flow. If you are in a rut…take time out, sit down and write. Identify all the things that are important to you in life, and mark how close your current situation is to this. Then start to take small steps towards what it is that you actually want to do. A great exercise is the ‘Rocking Chair’ Imagine yoou are 90, sitting on youur rocking chair reviewing your life. What would you want to be remembered for?
I hope this helps.
Philip
Hey gregg,
I used to be in a similar situation that you describe … it sounds like you’re partially burned out, partially looking for some relevance to the work you do, and several other things. From my personal experience, I found out that the majority of my friends (or the people I spoke to) didn’t quite graps the “feel” of what I was going through or what I was seeking.
Things started to change when I realized that the answer was somewhere inside of myself and that I had to “dig” for it. I basically started asking myself questions differently. Rather than, “What should I do with my life?” It was more things like, “Given my current situation, what can I do to feel content with what I do?” or things along those lines. If you ask yourself the wrong questions, you’ll find yourself in this endless cycle and never get the answers you’re looking for.
Some of the other comments mentioned things about how games (or other computer related technologies) are being used in non-standard ways. Perhaps you might try to find something that you can do on your own (for fun) if time allows … Of course, that doesn’t necessarily help with one’s social life being behind the keyboard 24/7 …
Perhaps you could have “no technology after work” periods … like a few days where you don’t check e-mail or use the computer once you leave the office. I’ve heard of these reports of people having withdrawl symptoms when they’re away from their computer, but perhaps doing this every now and then will help you figure out what you’re after or interested in … If you didn’t have a computer or any technology at home, what would you be doing? Hopefully not staying late at work to use the PCs there.
Think of what you did when you were out of work. Running a web site writng about technology, games, living in Japan.
Think about what you actually do while debating about whether to write game software: Developing web publishing software for your site, writing articles and publishing your photos.
Think about what you admired about Earth Worm Jim: All the fan mail. And what you get from this site: fan mail comments.
Think about what you do that might not be changing the world but at least affects a lot of people. How many people have contacted you about your web-site.
Hope this helps.
You’re involved in a PS3 yet disatisfied? Are you sure it’s your WORK life that you’re burned out on, and not your HOME life?
anonemouse,
i think you’re missing the whole point of what he’s talking about. working on a new piece of hardware doesn’t necessarily mean that one’s going to find that creative satisfaction one seeks.
i won’t speak for gregg, but what i do for a living also happens to be my hobby so it doesn’t seem as if it’s “work” for me; it’s a creative outlet that i just happen to get paid to do what i do anyway. so if i’m spending all these crazy hours at what is considered by most people as “work”, but i don’t feel like it’s worth it, then it’s quite natural to start to question things in regards “what’s important” to me.
Come work for Wells Fargo!!
Actually, I was thinking of getting into the game industry, though I keep hearing doom and gloom from every corner.
I’m a teacher in Japan. This “career” is going nowhere, but it is hard to get out. Though the pay is crap and I can see no future in it, I don’t know anything else I can do that makes as much money.
I tried to escape a couple of years ago by opening my own small bar in a small town in Japan. It really was good fun. Non stop party with lots of girls and drink every day. Because I lived in a room above the bar, people would drop in at all hours of the night. It didn’t make any money, though. In winter I was living hand to mouth.
So, I’m dissapointed to hear your view of the industry. I think, as someone else here suggested, the only way is to get into management. So long as you are a programmer or an artist, you are nothing more than a tool to be used. For this reason, I’m starting out as an indie, hiring freelancers for the things I can’t do well myself, and releasing my work as shareware rather than get chewed up and spat out by a publisher trolling for inexperienced developers.
I don’t think your position sounds that bad, but then the grass is always greener on the other side.
Greg pass on the bank job. Judas was the banker. These guys would have you ripping poor working class and saying “oh no we just wanna be helpful”.
One gets a good sense of watching their children grow up and bloom into adults. It is very rewarding. Starting your own company is somewhat a smaller reward in comparison to the bonus that comes after the children are grown. The true bonus is the grandchildren.
Searching for what comes next is the point you’ve reached it seems. Everyone gets to that point in time.
I retired from a company I started once. I wanted to give back to society in some helpful way. Yup, I was doing it and along came Wells Fargo wolves to help me out. Sure give me a hand loan me money. Wait a minute here did I say loan me money? Oh yes they loaned some money. I forgot to say they alos shorted my loan funds. But, hey they came to my recuse. Yup they loaned me some more money???? I had to make the payments for the first money they loaned or was that the money they said they had loaned? well they said they had loaned it all out anyhow?????
Take my advice Greg pass on the bank job.
God Bless your search for where you need to go next.
hey gregg,
Do you remember the girl you met on your trip to Hong Kong four years or so? it’s me, lalou I was looking at weblogging sites last nite wanting to build one myself and remember how you seem to be ahead of your time as far as blogging is concerned, so I thought about checking your website to get an idea. Luckily, I remember that your name has two g’s in it. Like the others I got hooked into reading this thread about what you want to do with your life.
That’s a profound question that each one of us probably deal with time and again and sometimes the answer is simple: Nothing! You don’t have to do anything as yet. Just be in the lookout for opportunities, be open to challenges and things will open up for you.
I could relate to the feeling of being burned out but that’s not something that a good holiday cannot cure. You travel quite a lot, so I am sure that’s no problem for you. But that is no guarantee that the same nagging feeling will not hound you again when you get back.
Sometimes it’s a matter of attitude. I have been working in a PR company that services the likes of Microsoft and HP and what me and my colleagues do is write press releases and do account servicing for these tech giants and they (my colleagues) seem to be happy doing that. Being a journalist making that big leap into the “Dark Side”. I was not happy with my job at all. And everyday is a struggle to love it. But I need to sit down and force myself to be thankful that I have a job when a lot of people do not. And it helps. Sometimes it a matter of seeing your value beyond your job. Because beyond doing the job that you don’t seem to find gratification from, there’s just so much more that you can share to people. Making this site is one of them.
If you really would like to “give back to humanity”, try teaching. With your talents in game creation, photography, etc. I am sure there are a lot of things you can share. You said there are not a lot of talents out there…how about writing a book on game development?
I hope you find whatever it is that will make you happy.
Lalou
4月、始まりの季節ですね。今の時期に、他人に何をすればよいかと聞かれたら、うーん、どう答えるかなぁー（あらかじめに、普通においても僕は他人を小バカにしたり、見下したりということはないので、あくまでも個人的意見です）まず、個人でなく、他人と組んで何か戦うのであれば、組み合わせを見ます。会社を作る？どんな人間関係を築く？であれ、山あり谷ありです。打たれ強くタフな人（←これは例外で、いないから）。普通の人であれば、組み合わせいかんにより、谷の時期→つらい、嫌になる→意味がないじゃないか？で、自分であれ他人の事であれ、まず組み合わせを見ます。例えば、よく言われてるが、ビルゲイツの創業スピリッツがあったので、初めの大変時期も熱意とやる気を失わず、今のソフト業界に君臨してる、対照的にアップルのジョブスを外し、経営のプロを入れたが低迷は直らず、ジョブスを戻したら元気になったアップルの例がある。根拠はないけど。うぅーーどんな事でも根性、楽しければ乗り切れるという事なのかな？まぁー、難しくてよくわからないが本音です。 以上。
4月 Ⅱ
これは僕の昔ながらの友人の警察官がよく、言うのだけれど、谷の時期は「どっかに落としどころ」持ってこなきゃいけないと。喧騒な中になってしまうと、いろいろな波が寄ってきて、合わさり、ぶつかって、変な方向に力が働き、失し、終わると。例えは悪いのだけど、彼はよく言うのだが、殺人事件は、当事者も周りの人も騒ぎ、喧騒になり、最後には波がひとつになるのだと。まぁー、旦那さんに結婚して浮気されたら、物を買ってもらって許してあげなさいと言う事か、谷の時期は、冷静に判断し、捨てるものは捨て、、、、、うーんー確かに僕も喧騒の中で失ったものは多いけど、みんなそうなんだろうけどね。まぁー難しい事は考えないのが本音です。 以上。